UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Optimists,

We did it–we finally hit 55 degrees today! Thank you to all of you who traveled and brought back warmer weather. And…how about those Badgers?! Let’s hope for a D1 National Championship!

On to Optimist business–which in no April Fool’s joke:

* I am very excited to announce that our surprise guest speakers are going to be Men’s Basketball Head Coach Pat Miller, Assistant Coach Nick Bennett, a couple of senior players and Quardel Young. Please join us for the meeting on April 1 in UC 259A.

* We will have updates on the following, as well. For now, please mark your calendars:

– Saturday, April 12: Easter Egg Hunt; 10am set up, 11am-event start. Rain site is the Whitewater Middle School

– Saturday, May 17: City Wide Rummage Sale

– Saturday, June 7: Fishing Derby

– Saturday, June 28: Relay for Life

Regarding the Easter Egg Hunt, we could use a few more helpers. Right now, we have Wes T., Joyce H., Linda K., Kate K., Angie A., and Kim A. on the list. Please let me know if you are able to assist. It is just a two-hour commitment.

I hope to see many of you at Tuesday’s meeting. I know Pat and his crew will have many great stories to share from the 2013-14 basketball season and the road to the D3 National Championship.

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Dear Members,

Optimism is shining in Warhawk Country as our men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed to the Final Four later this week! It’s exciting to be a Warhawk Fan!

On the club front, we have an excellent meeting coming up this Tuesday. We will host guest speakers Anna and Traci who will discuss the “Discover Whitewater” Ride scheduled for September 21. We will also enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day fellowship activity guided by Connie, Brenda and Anne.

Mark your calendars for the City Wide Rummage Sale on May 17. More information will be sent out very soon. The committee is finalizing all of the details and publicity.

Wes asked me to circulate a sign up sheet for the Easter Egg Hunt, scheduled for April 12. I will collect volunteers’ names at our meeting on Tuesday, and then will send out the list via email.

Some new photos will be appearing on our Optimist Blog this week, so keep referring to the Blog for updated information.

Have a Safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Spring has Sprung Optimists!

Mark your calendars for the Easter Egg Hunt on April 12.  The Easter Bunny, McGruff the Crime Dog, Student Optimists and many of our members will be on hand to greet children and their families at Starin Park for the traditional event! Thank you to Wes Therrian and Connie Murray for organizing the Easter Egg Hunt.  A flyer (designed by our intern, Seth) and sign up sheet will be sent out soon.

We have two outstanding guest speakers lined up for the next two weeks.  This Tuesday, Mark Maas will present his program on “Winning is a Lifestyle,” and on March 18, two coordinators of the “Discover Whitewater Series” half marathon will give a brief review of the event.  Maybe a little bit ‘o Irish fun will also take place at our meeting on March 18.

More information will be out soon on the status of the City Wide Rummage Sale.  Committee members are in the process of meeting and evaluating next steps.

Board members, please remember our meeting this Tuesday evening.  We have many important requests to address at the meeting, as well as presenting our next $5,000 check at the Park and Rec Board meeting, Tuesday at 5:30pm at City Hall.  I will send out a separate email to board members with details and a meeting agenda.

Lastly, we have received two new member applications from Kate and Ken Ksobiech.  Their applications will be presented at our board meeting.  Thank you Ken and Kate for submitting your membership applications.  We look forward to getting to know you as we serve our community together!

GO WARHAWKS–as both men’s and women’s team advance to the next round of the NCAA DIII Basketball Tournament–Sweet 16!

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Greetings Optimists,

On behalf of Kim and my self; this note is coming out a bit early because there are some important activities coming up and we thought getting early information would help you get these events on your calendar, now. (hint, hint)

First of all, A BIG THANK YOU to the 15 members who attended and to those members who brought 14 guests to the NOW meeting this past Tuesday. It was a great turnout and the “models” for our style show were a terrific hit! Thanks to each of them! Also, a huge thank you to Kim for the great slide show she put together while she was on vacation last week!

Please contact the guests you brought to our meeting to thank them for attending and ask them to JOIN!

The two news items this week: our Tuesday lunch meeting on the 18th is another Youth of the Month meeting. Due to the school closings last month we get two YOM’s this month. Remember, we will be back in our regular room, UC 259 from noon to 1.

THERE WILL BE NO NOON MEETING ON THE 25TH. Our monthly evening meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 25th to be held in the Warhawk room of the Lakefront pub downtown (the former Novak’s). We’ll start with a social and fellowship activity at 5 pm and a very important meeting about the future direction of our club will take place at 5:30 pm. Members will be able to order off the menu, if they so choose, but PLEASE, this is a very important opportunity to give input into the future of our club. Please make every effort to attend.

The other big event we have coming up is Trivia Night on Feb. 21 in the Hamilton Room. We are also STILL IN NEED OF TEAMS!!! It would be great to have a few teams come from our club’s membership. Consider getting a few of your office mates and friends together for a fun filled evening!

Lastly, Kim is ordering a very nice polo shirt from Aropa Designs in time for use at the Trivia night. They are of that new wicking fabric in purple with either a white or silver Optimist logo for only $22. Any one working the Trivia event can get one if you let Kim know what size. It’s only in men’s sizes so please order accordingly. Any other member who would like to update their Optimist wardrobe can order one also, BUT ALL ORDERS must be with Kim by 3 pm TOMORROW, to get them in time for next Friday.

Looks like the weather is finally going to break the freezing mark so have a terrific Hearts day and a great weekend!

Thanks–and will see many of you on Tuesday!

This is going to be a great year for Optimism!

Jeanine Fassl

UWW/Community Optimist Club

Vice-President

Emeriti Faculty

262-473-4906

Dear Optimists,

Please join Vice President Jeanine Fassl at our club meeting tomorrow as we host Youth of the Month (rescheduled from last week) and guest speakers Joe Lynch and Officer Valadez, who will speak about school safety.

Next week is a big meeting as we will host a NOW meeting with style!! Please confirm with Jeanine your attendance and number of guests for the NOW meeting. This will be very important for catering purposes. Remember that the meeting is in UC 261, too!

Trivia Night is just around the corner, too (Feb. 21). We are in need of helpers and teams. Please spread the word about the event, and if you can help out, we would gladly take the assistance. See the attached sign up sheet. Jeanine will also have a hard copy at the meeting.

Board members, please note that our next meeting is Feb. 11 at 5:30pm in UC 262.

Other announcements will follow at the club meeting.

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Hello Optimists,

Though the deep freeze continues, I hope some of you will be able to join us for our January 28 meeting. Coach Lance Leipold and two of his football players will be our guest speakers. They will be sharing stories, successes, and challenges from their National Championship season. If you are able to brave the elements, please join us. Please also send an RSVP to me to indicate if you are able to attend our meeting.

We will not be having Youth of the Month tomorrow because of the school closings.

Please note the information I sent out previously regarding Trivia Night on Feb. 21. I invite you help spread the word about the event, and to feel free to form a team. Also, we are still looking for more helpers from 6:30pm – 10:00pm that evening. Please let me know if you are able to help out for even a portion of the evening.

Finally, Jeanine also continues to ask for members’ help in spreading the word about our NOW meeting on Feb. 11. PLEASE consider bring a guest to this meeting. We will have a fun and informative meeting. It is important to have a good number of guests at this meeting in order to reach our full potential through the program.

Thanks–and think warm thoughts!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Warm Greetings, Optimists,

What a nice surprise to see 40 degrees today!

Here are this week’s updates:

Our meeting tomorrow will be held in the Old Main Ballroom, UC 275A. Thank you to Jeanine who will once again facilitate the meeting since I will be in LEAP workshops all day tomorrow and Wednesday.

Our guest speaker will be Denise Kaminski on her family travels in Europe. Next week, we will hear from two guest speakers on the preparations for WellFest in March.

We have a new and exciting fund raiser coming up on Friday, Feb. 21 in the Hamilton Room at 7:00pm. This will be a Trivia Night–fun for the whole family. Light refreshments and childcare will be provided at the event. A silent auction will also accompany the Trivia Night. This event will be a collaborative effort with the UW-W Student Optimist Club–and a fair to good amount of planning has already taken place. Funds raised from the event will help support the shipping of an ambulance to Burkina Faso, Africa, as well as to support the Whitewater Unified School District Family Emergency Fund. A sign up sheet will be circulated at the meeting and then also sent out via email.

Denise is seeking helpers to sell quilt raffle tickets at upcoming UW-W home basketball games. If you are available/interested to assist in this way, we would greatly appreciate it. All proceeds from the quilt raffle will be donated to the Whitewater Food Pantry. The quilt will be raffled off at the Trivia Night on February 21.

Board members, we will have a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in UC 260. I know a couple of you can’t make it, but hopefully you can still give input outside of the meeting.

There are a couple of blood drives that are coming up that Jeanine will further discuss with members. They are scheduled for Jan. 24 (Armory) and Jan. 31 (Esker). There is quite a shortage of blood right now, so if you are able to donate, please consider doing so.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling,

Kim 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving Week, Optimists!

I am thankful for all of you and the common purpose we have of serving the youth and our community.

I hope to see some of you at our meeting tomorrow.  Kevin Brunner and Brienne Brown, from the Whitewater Community Foundation, will be our guest speakers.

Football ticket taking will continue for our group as our UW-Whitewater Warhawks claimed a victory over St. Norberts on Saturday. We will be hosting Franklin College (of Indiana) this Saturday for a 12:00pm kickoff.  Hopefully the weather will be a touch nicer!!

On Tuesday, Dec. 3 during our 12:00pm meeting, we will be stuffing goodie bags for Breakfast with Santa.  Santa, Mrs. Claus, Frosty and all of their helpers will be on hand on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Esker Hall for the big event.  Breakfast will be served from 8:00am – 11:00am.  Tickets are $1.00 for children and $4.00 for adults.  Many tickets will be available through the Whitewater Food Pantry.

On Monday, December 9, we will have an Optimist Holiday Social at the Lakefront Pub (in the Whitewater Room), from 5:30pm-7:00om.  We will order off the menu for dinner.  Jeanine and I hope to see several folks there.  Feel free to bring friends and family members.

Dec 10 will feature our “Gifts with a Meaning,” so if you wish, please bring a toy, book or stuffed animal that represents you and one of your interests/hobbies.  For new members, please bring it unwrapped.

Speaking of new members, please continue to invite  friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc to our meetings.  It would be great to add some new faces and willing hands to our club’s membership roster.  The board regrettably needed to vote on three resignations from our club at our meeting on Nov. 18.

Lastly–mittens, gloves, scarves and hats are needed for the children in our community.  Anne Fellows will be arranging for school officials to come to our club meeting on Dec. 17 for our annual mitten tree presentation.  Please bring any contributions of these types no later than the 17th.  A tree will be set up outside of our meeting room for the presentation.  Several other trees will be set up throughout the community.

With gratitude,

Kim 🙂